Sunday, February 28 - Arrival In Almelo

This morning the troops were awakened at 8:45 to prepare for their visit to the Anne Frank Museum. We were given a very special tour of the museum by first being invited to listen to one of the museum curators share with us the background of Anne and her family. For many it was a very emotional experience. To be in the very room in which Anne hid and wrote her journal, and to then go into the other rooms in which the Frank family and their friends hid, was something that will remembered for a lifetime. We had our first group photo taken in front of Anne's house and then beside Anne's statue which is in front of the church that Anne could see, and the church bells by which Anne kept track of time every day - the same church bells that we could hear throughout the night during our stay at Hotel van Onna.

A bus picked us up at 1:00pm to take us to Almelo. Wow! Were we ever greeted in style! The Canadian flag was flying out in front of the school. (It was then taken down to be raised again tomorrow in celebration of Canada's gold meal game!!!!!) The meal that was provided by our host students and parents was unbelievable! What a welcome we were given! After each student had time to meet their host families, Marc announced that each host family should be aware that all televisions should be set on the channel that carries the gold medal hockey game in honor of the Canadian guests. That brought a very favorable response from the crowd.

Everyone is now safely home and preparing for this evening's gold medal match. We look forward to seeing the Canadian flag flying proudly at the entrance to St. Canisius School in the morning in honor of Canada's gold medal victory. And I look forward to filming many of our Canadian students as they arrive by bike to class tomorrow morning. Go Canada Go!

Saturday, February 27 - Jolly Ol' England

After having dodged snowstorms, ice pellets and freezing rain in Canada, we were very happy to arrive in London just behind our initial schedule by only about 2 hours - quite a feat considering what we had to go through to get here! We had a lovely tour guide and driver who took advantage of every second we had to show us as much as possible of the numerous sites of London, including Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, and Westminister Cathedral. We even had time to try out some fish and chips while experiencing the sites and sounds of Trafalgar Square.

That evening we arrived in Amsterdam. Having 25 Canadians, walking through the streets of Amsterdam in the heart of a Saturday evening, being led by their two Dutch hosts, can be a very interesting experience. Students were constantly mesmerized by the buildings, people and activity all around them. Meanwhile, tagging along behind, with eyes wide open, was Mr. Hayward who was constantly calling out, "Keep your eyes open for the cars. Bike! Don't forget to look both ways for trolleys. Bike! Make sure you leave a space for people to get past us. Bike!" We did get to our hotel after having dodged bikes, trolleys, bikes, cars, bikes, and people for about 40 minutes. It was then an interesting site to watch students assist each other with luggage as they snaked up the very narrow hallways to their rooms, which in some cases were five floors above them. Like the true troopers they were, however, they stuck to the task at hand and got ready for a well deserved good night's sleep, knowing that they had experienced another day of success representing their Miramichi community and their proud country of Canada. As one flight attendant noted as we were leaving our flight to Heathrow, "I want to know where those students are from because they are the most well behaved and respectful students I have ever had the honor to serve on an airplane." What better words could one use to sum up our first day in Europe!